


Two Hours and Forty Five Minutes

by elirwen



Series: summer pornathon 2014 [6]
Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Past Rape/Non-con, Protective Arthur
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-31
Updated: 2014-08-31
Packaged: 2018-02-15 13:16:54
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 1
Words: 733
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2230455
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/elirwen/pseuds/elirwen
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>He stops when he hears rustling coming from somewhere to his left and waits. It wouldn’t be the first time for a deer to cross his path. A sound of quiet sobbing is not what he expected. </p><p>“Is anyone there?”</p><p>The sobbing stops.</p><p>He doesn’t have to look around for long before he finds a man hunched close to a tree trunk.</p><p>~~~</p><p>NON-CON IS <b>NOT</b> MERLIN/ARTHUR.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Two Hours and Forty Five Minutes

**Author's Note:**

> written for the sixth week of summer pornathon 2014

He stops when he hears rustling coming from somewhere to his left and waits. It wouldn’t be the first time for a deer to cross his path. A sound of quiet sobbing is not what he expected. 

“Is anyone there?”

The sobbing stops.

He doesn’t have to look around for long before he finds a man hunched close to a tree trunk.

“Are you hurt?” Arthur asks.

A pair of blue eyes land on him, full of terror. The man’s skin is unhealthy pale, his face streaked with tears. He’s shaking all over, his clothes are dirty and torn in some places. A small gust of wind brings a waft of scent towards Arthur. An omega. He smells like the last day of heat. 

Arthur moves closer. The man scrambles to his feet, stumbling on the uneven ground. 

“Please, don’t,” the omega pleads.

“I won’t hurt you.”

He takes a few more steps towards the man who immediately takes off. He’s frantic in his need to escape, but his body is betraying him. He’s too slow, too weak. Catching him is easy.

“I swear I’m not going to hurt you,” Arthur says. 

“Please, please, please. I’ll make it good for you, just...” the man begs.

Arthur follows his instincts and turns the scared omega around, pulling him to his chest and pressing his face to the crook of his neck, hoping that his scent will calm him as it’s very different from alphas’ mating pheromones. He breathes a sigh of relief when the man melts into his embrace and starts crying. 

xXx 

“What’s your name?”

No reaction. 

“I’m Arthur.”

“Merlin,” the man says, not pulling an inch from Arthur’s body.

“Good, Merlin, fine. How about we take you to hospital now?”

Merlin tenses.

“Not the hospital. They’d ask... I can’t.”

“Okay,” Arthur soothes him, petting his hair.

“Let me take you to mine.”

“I shouldn’t...”

“Let me take care of you,” Arthur says, overwhelmed by the strong need to protect.

“Why do you even care? I’m worthless, dirty, used,” Merlin spits out, trying to pull away from Arthur. “Four of them had me, day after day. They made me beg for it, like it.”

Arthur tightens his hold on Merlin, gritting his teeth as rage swells inside him. He wants to maim the scum who took advantage of a defenceless omega in heat. 

xXx

“Do you think you’ll be able to walk?”

Merlin nods tiredly and Arthur knows he’s going to carry him anyway.

xXx

Two hours and forty five minutes. That’s how long it takes for Arthur to realize he found his mate. 

xXx

He can’t go on like this. Five hours of tossing and turning, digging his fingers into a mattress to stop himself from going after Merlin. He needs to check if he’s alright. See for himself that he’s resting peacefully.

He doesn’t expect to find Merlin sleeping right in front of his door. 

xXx

“Why aren’t you in bed?” Arthur asks, checking Merlin’s forehead for fever.

“I feel safer closer to you.”

xXx

Even though they share the same bed every night, wrapped around each other, they take things slow. 

They deal with nightmares and sudden mood swings. Sometimes tremors set in and Arthur holds Merlin close while his mind struggles with painful memories. 

Sometimes Merlin talks to Arthur about various means to an end, doesn’t protest when Arthur doesn’t let him out of his sight for days afterwards.

xXx

Merlin’s heat arrives two months late.

xXx

Gently, Arthur touches Merlin’s body. He trails his lips down Merlin’s chest, soothing the almost pained moans with a kiss as Merlin comes untouched. 

Eyes glazed with need, Merlin whispers ”please” and “need you”, stilling and barely breathing when Arthur pushes in for the first time. 

xXx 

His body sated, the first wave of heat over, all the stress, pent-up emotions and fears spill out, flowing away with tears and loud sobs. Merlin recounts the details of his rape, each word pushing him closer to freedom.

xXx

The second wave of heat drags Merlin out of his slumber. He moans Arthur’s name, offering his neck for claiming.

xXx

Freshly forged mating bond thrumming through their veins, Arthur gathers the last bits of his energy to provide his beloved with aftercare. 

xXx

The pain of the past will never be forgotten, but it will fade in the light of thousands of future memories.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm already working on a much longer version of this. I already have a bit over 2k written. But I'm not sure when I'll be done.


End file.
